With the advent of multimedia technology, there is a demand for a system which supports multimedia applications on a network, for example a Local Area Network (LAN). Such a system would need to transfer digital audio and video data quickly and easily across the LAN.
One system which provides multimedia applications on a network is the Isochronous Ethernet or IsoEthernet. The IsoEthernet is a new LAN access technology specified by the IEEE 802.9 committee which enables digital audio and video data to be sent easily across a LAN. The IsoEthernet overcomes the bandwidth and data transfer rate constraints of a LAN and enables isochronous transmission of data at fixed intervals with little or no delay, within a LAN, which is referred to as an Isochronous LAN or IsoLAN. The IsoEthernet enables video and audio traffic to be transferred easily across a LAN for such multimedia applications as video conferencing, interactive presentations, etc.
The IsoEthernet is compatible with the 10BasetT ethernet in the 10 Megabits per second packet mode. The 10BaseT is the most common ethernet and uses an unshielded twisted pair of wires as physical media. The IsoEthernet is easy to install by inserting a new network interface card (NIC) and replacing or upgrading a hub. No rewiring is necessary, and the resulting network can still handle traditional packetized data.
ALAN with IsoEthernet user access is called an IsoEthernet system. An example of an IsoEthernet system is depicted in FIG. 1. According to FIG. 1, two IsoEthernet terminals 100 can communicate with each other or with a public network through a communication system 105. The IsoEthernet terminal 100 is a personal computer (PC) with an IsoEthernet Network Interface Card (NIC) that is used for various multimedia applications, e.g. video conferences. A plurality of IsoEthernet terminals 100 are commonly used in an IsoEthernet system, as depicted in FIG. 1. The communication system 105 typically employs structured software to control the communication between the terminals 100 and the public network, which includes the transfer of multimedia data as well as the ordering and interaction of services such as call forwarding, multimedia interactive conferencing, etc.
There are several problems that arise due to the use of the structured software in the communication system 105. One problem is how to separate the behavior of the terminal and the interface from the service ordered via the interface, so that a new terminal can be added, without affecting the existing service. Another problem is how data should be transferred between the parties.
Yet another consideration is how new services can be added or how old services can be removed or modified, or new access parts can be added without affecting the existing services or access parts. For instance, a new service may not be able to be added without affecting already implemented services, which complicates the interactions between services. Similarly, removing services and adding or removing access parts may affect already implemented services and access parts.